THEATRE REVIEW:
THE SITUATIONISTS
17 APR/11

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 3 out of 5


At a time when most Canadians seem to be convinced that we are getting screwed by political parties of every stripe, Sky Gilbert comes along with the notion that what politics, specifically left-wing politics, needs these days is — wait for it — more sex. But then Gilbert — the broodingly flamboyant founder of Buddies In Bad Times Theatre — has always been a bit of a contrarian. Gilbert’s assertions are all wrapped up in his latest play, THE SITUATIONISTS, currently playing on Buddies' mainstage, where it opened last week, a presentation of Gilbert’s Cabaret Company.

Now, for those not steeped in arcane political and social theory, a bit of a history lesson seems to be in order. Under the aegis of French filmmaker and theorist Guy Debord, the Situationist movement was popular in the early 1950s, advocating social change through spectacles specifically engineered to underscore the lies on which our lives within a capitalist society are built. And while the Situationist ethos may not be terribly familiar in today’s world, the involvement of the Situationists in a general strike that crippled France in 1968 is a matter of public record.

Gilbert’s play, however, is set in the present day and takes place in an anonymous apartment rented by Lise (Haley McGee), to be used specifically for the plottings of an intimate Situationist cabal, comprised of Lise and her uptight professor, Jacques, played by Gavin Crawford. Jacques, for his part, sees himself as the guru of the Situationist movement, while Lise apparently sees him as God, which pleases Jacques. Andy Moro, who also designed the far-too-moody-by-half lighting for the show, has created a simple runway set that proves effective, although on the night we attended, the china cabinet seemed determined to undermine Gilbert’s vision.

What starts out as a quiet meeting between Lise and Jacques falls apart however, when Lise reveals her determination to increase their cell with the addition of Evon (Gil Garratt), a brash and sexually predatory political activist whose views are certainly elastic enough to embrace those held by his newfound co-conspirators. But when the political becomes personal — and here Gilbert seems to subscribe to the popular notion that the political should always be personal — this threesome can’t seem to get it together.

Jacques, for his part, insists that any sort of sexual connection is certain to undermine whatever they try to do politically, a notion with which Lise has heretofore had no choice but to agree. But Evon thinks sex should be part and parcel of everything they do and sets about exploiting the sexual tension that exists in every angle of this triangle.

Sadly, this all sounds a lot more interesting than it plays, for as anyone who followed last week’s leaders’ debates can tell you, political discussion rarely makes for compelling theatre. The fact that Crawford performs the whole show in an all but impenetrable and therefore indecipherable French accent is more than slightly problematic too as is the fact that McGee moves as if she’s suddenly found herself encumbered with someone else’s hips just as she was leaving the dressing room. Garratt, for his part, seems to have largely escaped Gilbert’s stilted and hugely mannered directorial vision, charged as he is with the bizarre role of playing the bull in the china cabinet.

It is a bleak, mannered affair, albeit a bleak mannered affair with a purpose, although that purpose cannot ethically be revealed here. Suffice to say that the evening ends on a note that is nothing if not thought-provoking, underscoring some of the hypocrisy of civilization as we know it. But while the destination proves thought-provoking, one can’t help but wish that Gilbert had mapped out a more interesting voyage to take us there.